Denver won 57 games, were the three seed in the West, and go into next season with one of the most promising young rosters in the league. Things are looking up. Because he’d helped construct a balanced, attacking, up-tempo system and team out of the parts that came back in the Carmelo Anthony trade, George Karl was named the NBA Coach of the Year for 2013.

On his conversation with team president Josh Kroenke upon being fired: “Josh was nice and complimentary, said he’d honor my contract and the coaches. The conversation was on the decision, and I said, ‘I think I should tell you, I think it’s very stupid.’ And since then, I don’t understand it….

“I think it was a special season because of the connection this team has with each other and with the coaching staff and with the city. The fans like this team. The staff likes each other. And to blow up that connection is, in my opinion, extremely disrespectful to coaching.”

The difference in philosophy was around Karl wanting to win games and Kroenke and management wanting to see more of the team’s young players on the court for development reasons. Even if that meant a loss or two.

At the heart of all of that was JaVale McGee — he signed a four-year, $44 million contract last summer but Karl didn’t think he was ready and started Kosta Koufos. McGee can be brilliant one possession, then play confused 15 year-old the next. But management invested big in him and wants him developed. Coaches on the other hand don’t trust inconsistency.

“We won 57 wins and are in a great place. Continuity, consistency, togetherness all are so much more valuable than they have on their priority list than playing JaVale McGee or the young players….

“And I never had a meeting where that disappointment (about the rotations), in that part of it, was voiced to me. I never had that meeting. I heard through whispers. I’m sorry that 57 wins doesn’t make you happy.”

Well then, how do you really feel?

Karl is interviewing with Memphis next Monday. The Nuggets are reportedly targeting Brian Shaw and Lionel Hollins.

I don’t remember playing tonight. I didn’t play. Guys get a lot of money to be ready to play. No Knute Rockne speeches. It’s your job. If you’re a plumber and you don’t do your job, you don’t get any work. I don’t think a plumber needs a pep talk. If a doctor botches operations, he’s not a doctor anymore. If you’re a basketball player, you come ready. It’s called maturity. It’s your job.

Like it or not, motivation is part of an NBA coach’s job.

But that’s also precisely what Popovich is doing.

His credentials dwarf any other coach’s. He can play to his own ego and absolve himself of responsibility – and players will seek to please him. His years of success have earned him the ability to motivate this way, a method no other coach could use without alienating his team.

So, why not hold Motiejunas to what became a four-year, $31 million offer sheet once matched? Houston got something in return – a later trigger date on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ 2017-18 salary. Originally, that decision had to be made March 1 – which would’ve meant dropping Motiejunas from the team this season to prevent his salary from counting next season. Now, the Rockets can make that call in July, after this season is complete.

The following two Julys, Houston will also have a choice on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ upcoming salary or dropping him.

Essentially, Motiejunas is signing the most lucrative Hinkie Special in NBA history. If he plays well and stays healthy, the Rockets have Motiejunas at an affordable rate. If he struggles or his back injuries flare up, they can drop him with little to no penalty.

After they backed themselves into this corner, Motiejunas and his agent, B.J. Armstrong, didn’t do so bad. Considering the similarity between this contract and the Nets’ original offer sheet, it seems Houston helped Armstrong save face after a bungled free agency (which is easier to accept when you’re adding a talented reserve to a formidable team).

But for how little is guaranteed and how much control the Rockets hold over the next four years, wouldn’t Motiejunas have been better off accepting the $4,433,683 qualifying offer?

This means Motiejunas can’t sign with the Nets, who signed him to the original offer sheet, for one year.

I bet it also means Motiejunas and Houston have agreed to a new contract. Otherwise, why release him from the offer sheet? The Rockets would be giving up a tremendous amount of leverage out of the goodness of their hearts – unless this is just a prelude to a new deal with Houston.